key pillar: public health

SANITATION

Diarrhea kills more children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined

TOILETS SAVE LIVES
More than half the global population lacks proper toilets and sanitation, clean hygienic facilities are essential to peoples dignity and to public health.

More than 1,200 children die each day (globally) as a result of diarrhea. Thats more than more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. Diarrhea is a result of unprocessed waste, which leads to malnourishment which leads to death. When there is not water filtration or sewer system, human waste ends up in rivers, streams, and ravines next to houses and during flooding this waste can come inside houses. 

Although this might feel like an uncomfortable topic, it is truly a matter of life and death. But, the best news is…this is a problem we can solve simply by building toilets. Toilets save lives, because human waste spreads killer diseases. Toilets may be something many people do not even think about, but for over half of the worlds population, toilets are not an option. In fact more people in the world have phones than toilets. This is certainly true for many rural areas in developing countries including the ECCA school in La Pointe, Haiti where upwards of 250 people must relieve themselves each day. 

In 2017 we partnered with local leaders to create a sanitary waste facility that school children and staff could use. This helps to reduce the transmission of disease and increase class participation. Prior to this children had no choice but to walk long distances to find relief in outdoor, germ-filled community facilities. These toilets truly are saving lives.